Letters to the Editor | Week of June 24-29, 2024

Too many benchmarks

I heard a top Brownsville ISD administrator tell a television reporter something I could not believe.

She said BISD would be working to bring back students to BISD and to prevent so many absences. Her solution was to benchmark more often and not wait until the end of the year.

How will that help attendance? To begin with, and from what I have observed from volunteering at different schools, students are sick and tired of taking tests and bubbling all day long. They want to learn, and discuss what they have learned and relate their learning to personal experiences and share with the teacher and other students.

I strongly believe that absences could be curtailed if the students enjoyed going to school to actively participate with their teacher and classmates and not just rote learning and bubbling circles. That is the reason many students do not want to go to school. Take those phones away and get involved with actually teaching in group activities and receiving the joy of having fun in school while they are learning.

My fondest recollection of my school days are the stories our teachers told us and those we shared with the class and how we all were able to pass the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills we were given at the end of the year. We learned “for keeps” and not just to pass the test. I also have nine out of 12 perfect attendance certificates from my school days because I loved going to school and we had an attendance officer, Pete Bouis, whom we respected and dared not miss school once his name was mentioned.

Teachers, try using the Socratic method of teaching in your room; that is the best way to determine if your students are progressing under your leadership.

Give it all you have; all our students deserve it and expect it from you. Find a way to teach that objective in a way that students will not object coming to school.

I hope those tasks force teams they plan to instigate at each campus to take this into consideration.

Judi “J.Rod” Rodriguez

Brownsville

Allred attacked

For years, Colin Allred has masqueraded as a moderate, claiming to support comprehensive immigration policies while actually supporting the far-left agenda. However, his recent flip-flop on border security reveals his true colors: a cowardly politician willing to abandon his principles for political expediency.

Allred’s shift from labeling the border wall “racist” to advocating for it raises serious questions about his consistency and sincerity on border security issues. Despite vocalizing support for border protection measures, there’s a noticeable absence of tangible efforts or legislative initiatives led by Allred to strengthen border security or address the root causes of this issue.

Allred also missed a pivotal vote on border security, which only raises more concerns surrounding his commitment to effectively addressing the crisis at the southern border.

His actions make me question his integrity and trustworthiness as a public servant. If he is willing to compromise on such a fundamental issue as immigration, what other principles is he willing to sacrifice for the sake of political expediency?

Texans deserve a representative who will uphold unwavering principles on critical issues like border security, instead of wavering to cater to changing political tides.

Minerva Simpson

Harlingen

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